Healthified Chicken Pockets

Since my hubby and I started our diets, we have really had to sacrifice. I managed to make one of our favorite dinners a little healthier. One serving is 318 calories and 20 gr. of protein. I added a litte carrot for a boost of beta carotene and just to get some veggies in!

Healthified Chicken Pockets - 8 servings - 2 crescents=1 serving

1-1 1/2 lbs cooked chicken breast, chopped or shredded

8 oz fat free cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsp I can't Believe It's Not Butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup crushed croutons

1 carrot, grated

cilantro

pepper

2 pkgs reduced fat crescent rolls

shred chicken and place in a bowl with softened cream cheese and melted margarine. Add milk and stir. Grate carrots into the mixture. Crush croutons into crumbs and add. Cut cilantro and mix into filling. Spoon onto uncooked crescents and roll up like a normal crescent.Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

To make the filling a little more flavorful, you can add craisins and celery and make it like a yummy Thanksgiving dinner in a crescent!

Tasty Tacos with Black Bean Mango Salsa

TOnight I was feeling a little experimental and I think the fruits of my labors were delicious! Easy too!

We had chicken hard shelled tacos with a black bean, corn, and mango salsa.

Step 1: take corn tortillas and fry them up into shells in olive oil.

Step 2. Make Salsa:

1 can black beans

1 can whole kernel corn

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 mango, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

juice from 1 lime

MIX TOGETHER AND LET SIT 20 MIN

Step 3: Prepeare chicken (mine was bbq-ed last week and frozen so that made it easy)

1 lb chicken breast, cooked and chunked or shredded

1/2 tomato, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

1-2 TBSP taco seasoning

COMBINE AND FILL SHELLS. TOP WITH SALSA!

The surprising thing about this dinner is that my picky 2 year old sat down and ate it right up (I guess it helps that I tell him everything in it will make his muscles bigger)

Green and Bean Chicken Quesadillas

With my spring garden prep going on, I have a nice patch of spinach growing. It comes back every year and I LOVE IT!!! I am surpised at how well those little seeds keep on producing(I have extra seeds if anyone is interested). The best part about these leafy greens is that they produce while it is still cold outside so I don't have to worry about a May Frost taking them away! To use up some of the leaves, I came up with a Green and Bean Chicken Quesadilla.

GREEN AND BEAN CHICKEN QUESADILLA

6 whole wheat tortillas

1 LARGE cooked chicken breast (I grilled mine up the other day while the BBQ was fired up)

1 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese

1/2 cup black beans

1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves

1 can diced green chiles

On a medium/hot skillet, place a tortilla sprinkled with cheese on and add some chicken, beans, spinach, and chiles and a little more cheese and cook until slightly melted. Place another tortilla over the top and use a pan to press the tortillas together. Flip and cook until both sides have browned and cheese is melted. Repeat with other tortillas. Cut into 6 pieces per quesadilla and serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole!

Sweet and Savory Chicken - Ready in minutes

One of my easiest recipes consists of about 4 ingredients.

Sweet and Savory Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken, thawed and chunked
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups peach jam (or any citrus fruit preserves)
1 pkg stir fry mix - OPTIONAL

In a skillet, cook chicken chunks until browned. Add preserves and soup mix and stir until mixture melts and glazes all the meat. Add stir fry mix and keep warm until serving.

My sister just moved into a new house and I went to visit. To help her out, I made this dish with her along with some rice. From start to finish, it only took about 20 minutes to make. We added some extra bell peppers, green beans and a few other little veggies and it was soo yummy. It feeds a family too!

WANNABE Panda Express Orange Chicken - made with CUTIES

Another tasty night that took a little (I mean quite a bit more) work than usual. I haven't made Orange Chicken in over a year and I have kinda been craving it. I checked my fridge and noticed that I had almost all of the necessary ingredients (or substitutes) needed to make this WANNABE Panda Express favorite! Bear in mind that I just had some CUTIES sitting on my counter so rather than get some oranges, I wanted to see if these would work as well.

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken chopped into bite sized pieces.
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 1/2 tsp salt
white pepper (or just fresh ground pepper is what I use)

Place in a large Ziplock bag and toss together.

1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Flour
Oil (for frying)

Stir together cornstarch and flour. Add chicken pieces, stirring to coat.

Heat oil for deep frying in a wok (abt 375 degrees)

Add Chicken in small batches at a time and fry 3-4 minutes or until golden crisp. Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels - Set Aside and prepare orange sauce.


Orange Sauce

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp water
5 Tbsp sugar (or Splenda)
5 Tbsp white vinegar
Juice of 1 cutie + zest of entire cutie (Or 1 orange juiced and zested)

mix together and set aside until ready to use.

1 tbsp gingerroot, minced (I jsut use a small grater)
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch

Clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry for about 10 seconds or until fragrant. Add pepper flakes and green onions. Add rice vinegar and stir 3 seconds. Add orange sauce and bring to a boil. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed. Stir water and cornstarch together until smooth and add to wok. Heat until sauce is thickened and serve warm.

Easy Rice Wraps

I had a craving earlier this week and it was satisfied with tonight's dinner. Easy Spring Wraps!! Last year, I bought some at the store and fell in love with the light cool taste of these healthy rolls. They cost about $3-$4 for 2 rolls, but I hate paying for something that I can make my own for much cheaper. Most everything I just got at the regular grocery store. I know some stores carry sheets of rice paper, but I couldn't find any at my regular store, so I just went and bought a 30 pack for about $3 at Whole Foods.

Ingredients to try out - I will put a star next to what I used and how much to make about 8-10 rolls
*cucumber - 1/3 large hothouse
*spinach/lettuce- about 1/3 bunch cut into strips
*bell pepper - 1/4 red in strips
*avocado - 1/2 medium hass
sprouts
*carrots- 2 cut into thin strips
*chicken - 1 cup cut into chunks or shredded
shrimp
cooked rice

Step 1: Take rice paper and dip into warm water for 10- 30 seconds or until flexible without cracking or breaking. (Some packages differ from others, so just keep an eye out for cracking)


Step 2: Fill with veggies and meat. Roll like a burrito or egg roll and press together to seal ingredients in.

Step 3: Let the rolls sit for a few minutes and cut diagonally down the center and put on a plate, careful not to let them touch (sometimes the wrappers stick to eachother)


Dipping Sauce for Rice Wraps

3 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 finely sliced Green Onion
Splash of sesame oil

The hardest part of making this for me was keeping my wrappers from cracking. If there is a little crackage, its ok. These rolls don't look that great until you cut them down the middle anyway.
ENJOY!!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup - found on livestrong.com

1 lb cooked chicken, cubed
3 cups water (I just used the water that I boiled the chicken in for extra taste)
1 can chicken broth - low sodium
1 can diced green chilies
2 cans black beans
2 cups frozen corn
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup salsa
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
Add ingredients together in a large stock pot. Cook for 1 hour or until flavors are blended. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado chunks, cheese or whatever you like. I just left it plain tonight and it was sooo tasty! Perfect dinner for a rainy night.

** This recipe makes A LOT of soup. It made abt 4 quarts for me so if you have leftovers, they freeze great!

Green Enchilada Chili

Tonight I went to my sister's house and hung out with her for a bit. I brought homemade rolls and she made a new Chili recipe!

Melt in your mouth rolls

3 cups hot water
1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
4 cups flour (starting) adding up to 8 cups - of course I used whole wheat
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup gluten
1 tbsp salt
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 crushed up 1000mg vitamin C

in a mixer, combine hot water with yeast. Add about 4 cups of flour and mix to paste-like consistency. Add oil, honey, salt and gluten. Turn the mixer from low to medium and add powdered milk. Gradually add more flour (I do 1/2 cup at a time) until dough starts to clean the bowl. Let knead in mixer for 5 minutes. Add crushed vitamin and mix 1-2 minutes more.
Slather hands with shortening to keep dough from sticking to your hands and break dough into abt 36 pieces and shape into rolls. Place on baking sheet and let rise in a warm area until doubled in volume (abt 15 min for me today). Bake at 350 for 19-22 minutes or until toasty brown.

Green Enchilada Chili
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 large can green enchilada sauce
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans black beans
2 cans white beans
16 oz sour cream ( I prefer fat-free for less calories, but do what you like)
8-16 b0z grated pepper jack cheese

combine chicken and sauce in a large pot at medium heat. Add broth and beans. Simmer 10+ minutes. Add sour cream and let the chili get nice and hot. Gradually grate cheese into chili (if you add it all at once, you will have gooey chili instead of creamy). Serve and enjoy!

Long days = quick and easy dinners = Chicken Rice Ole'

So I decided to make cookies with my 2 year old before dinnertime and forgot to take care of dinner until dessert was done! What was I to do. Luckily, I freeze rice when I cook too much of it. This is one of my easiest and fastest recipes for those nights when theres a lot going on and not a lot of time to make dinner.

Chicken Rice Ole'

3 cups cooked rice (i like brown rice)
1 cup sour cream
1 10 oz can of cooked chicken
1 cup Salsa
a sprinkle of grated cheese

So for this, I just put everything in a microwave safe dish and stir it together. I pop that in the microwave for 3-5 min or until everything is heated thoroughly. Thats it!!!! It takes me less than 10 minutes to prepare and serve this when the rice is already cooked. Definitely a time saver and oh so tasty. My kids like it too!

An easier night with a boost of veggies!

I have a 2 year old that DOES NOT eat rice. Last night, he willingly ate some and asked for more. I was shocked. He ate all of his dinner so that warranted a trip to Cold Stone after my healthy dinner so it was a good night.
I made a goal this week to try a new recipe every day. So on Sunday I made my breakfast skillet and last night I tried a rice pilaf recipe from Doubly Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. I love the recipes in this cookbook because they are simple recipes that have added veggies hidden in them. If you are not familiar with Jessica Seinfeld's cooking approach, she sneaks veggies into her kids foods by cooking them up and pureeing them or by adding whole grains. I really am a "wannabeskinny mama" so this book really helps. I have noticed that as I eat more veggies every day, I lose weight easier. Here is the recipe for enriched rice Pilaf. As usual, I made a few modifications to fit me better.

RICE PILAF
prep: 5 minutes
Total time: 50 min
Serves 5

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup brown rice (I used 1 1/4 - 1 1/2)
1/2 c cauliflower puree ( I used about 3/4 cup)
1 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth (I just used a whole can)
1/4 tsp salt

In a saucepan, saute the garlic in the olive oil until is just starts to brown on the edges. Add the uncooked rice and toss to coat (abt 30 seconds)
Add the cauliflower puree, chicken broth, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to a simmer with the lid tightly in place. Simmer abt. 45 min. or until rice is tender.DO NOT STIR!!
Let rice stand for 5 min and fluff with a fork. Serve. Enjoy!

The nutrition breakdown is:
Calories = 154
Carbs = 30 g
Protein = 4 g
Total Fat = 2 g
Saturated Fat = 0.5 g
Sodium = 140 mg
Fiber = 2 g

Quick and Yummy

So the other day I was making some brown rice for my little boy. As it was cooking, I realized that I was feeling pretty hungry myself. So I tried thinking of the quickest, easiest meal that I could make with rice. I remembered an easy dish that didn't require a lot of work or ingredients. So here is the recipe for my haystacks.

1 can cooked chicken breast (or 1 breast boiled and shredded)
1 cup chicken gravy (or to make it a little easier, use cream of chicken soup)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can pineapple chunks
1 1/2 cups peas (or other cut up veggies)
chow mein noodles (the crunchy ones)
3 cups rice, cooked

Make the gravy according to package directions. Assemble the haystacks with rice on the bottom, then chicken and gravy mixed together. Add cheese to top, followed by veggies and desired amount of pineapple. Sprinkle chow mein noodles over the top and enjoy. This should make about 4 servings.

I actually forgot about the cheese until I had finished the meal, but doing that kept the meal pretty healthy. I even fed it to my little 11 month old boy without the noodles and pineapple. He just loved it, and so did I... a nice balance of sweet, salty, and creamy...not to mention healthy!

Easy Chili

I was watching tv a few months back and I noticed this SUPER EASY recipe on a daytime talk show. My mother-in-law also made chili this same way. It is really tasty, inexpensive and good for you.

1 (10 oz) can cooked chicken
1 pint salsa
2 cans chili beans

Put the ingredients in a pot and bring to a nice simmer. Serve and enjoy.

* if you want to, boil 1-2 chicken breasts and shred in place of canned chicken.

A dish in no time

This afternoon, my husband and I were running a little late. He needed dinner ready to take the work and like most people, we are tightening the belt and trying to save money. We neede something in 20 minutes.
I had some thawed chicken the fridge, so I pulled it out and cut it into strips. I went to grab the seasoning salt, and there was a little empty bottle. I looked at the ingredients on the top and thought...salt, paprika, celery salt, garlic salt, pepper...easy peasy.
So I laid the chicken out on a plate and just lightly sprinkled all of those ingredients on the chicken, threw it in a pan with a tbsp of olive oil and just cooked it up. Because the chicken was already thawed, it took 10 minutes to have a tasty dish ready to serve over rice.
Let me just tell you that the seasonings were great. I just eyeballed the ingredients and sure enough, I think it tasted better than buying regular seasoned salt.
SOOOOOO... if you want to have dinner ready in no time, just try this quick and healthy dish.

Whats for dinner tonight.

Ok so I think that I want to try and do a few recipes a week and to start that out, I am doing a "whats for dinner tonight" post, kinda like Rachel Ray does on her morning show. I posted last nights and feel bad for leaving it with an unhealthy ending, so for tonight I am making a yummy southwest kinda salad.

This is one of my favorite summer dinners because it is so easy and doesn't heat up the house.

1 bunch of fresh spinach from the grocery store ( I usually cut off the stem part of the leaves)
several romaine lettuce leaves
about 1 1/2 c. rotisserie chicken (or any pre-cooked chicken will do)
1 can of yellow corn
1 can black beans
1/2 c. carrot shreds
1/2 cucumber, chopped
ranch dressing
barbeque sauce

I make 3 or 4 salads with this recipe so start by dividing spinach onto desired amount of plates. Add romaine lettuce to plates. Layer with corn, beans, cucumbers, and carrots. put about 1/2 C. chicken on to the top of the salad. Drizzle some ranch dressing over the top, followed by a light drizzle of the barbeque sauce. Serve and enjoy.

My husband made a comment about this salad the last time that I made it. He said that salads like this are like summer casseroles where you just mix it all together and enjoy.